The Usharmukti Plus project, West Bengal

Usharmukti, an innovative program, was launched by the Government of West Bengal in 2017 to rejuvenate seven major rivers in Western Bengal. The program aimed to effectively implement the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in watershed mode across 54 blocks in 6 districts of Western Bengal. The program was executed by a consortium of six Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), with the assistance of the Panchayats and Rural Development Department and Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation (BRLF).

The project was successful, and a two-year extension was planned under “Usharmukti Plus.” The new project aimed to transform the landscape management of the region, focusing on agricultural augmentation and livelihood diversification. The Usharmukti Plus project seeks to establish a self-reliant farming system model for production cluster development, generating sustainable livelihoods for approximately 2.89 lakh households in the region.